Christine Irving and John Crawford, The Scottish Information Literacy Project
Similaire à Supporting information literacy needs in different educational approaches – problem-based learning(PBL) at University College Dublin (UCD). Dodd
Similaire à Supporting information literacy needs in different educational approaches – problem-based learning(PBL) at University College Dublin (UCD). Dodd (20)
Supporting information literacy needs in different educational approaches – problem-based learning(PBL) at University College Dublin (UCD). Dodd
1. Problem-Based Learning at
University College Dublin
Lorna Dodd
Liaison Librarian
Human Sciences
University College Dublin,
Belfield, Dublin 4,
Ireland
Lorna.dodd@ucd.ie
Supporting Information Literacy in
different educational approaches
Ursula Byrne
Head of Academic Services,
Humanities & Social Sciences,
University College Dublin,
Belfield, Dublin 4,
Ireland
Urusla.Byrne@ucd.ie
2. Background
• Largest university in Ireland
• Problem-Based Learning (PBL) currently in
practice within several programmes
• Government funding (SIF) to support
development of further initiatives across
campus
3. What is PBL?
• Centres on the student
• Work in small tutorials
• Presented with complex, real-life
‘problems’
• Identify what they know from their
existing knowledge
• Identify gaps in their existing knowledge
• Formulate ‘learning issues’ for next
session
6. Why is Information Literacy
important in PBL?
• Self-directed learning
• Development of life-long transferable
skills
• Critical and reflective thinking
7. Identify an
information
need
Convert Learning
Issues
into search strategies
Identify
most
appropriate
source
Identify kind of
information &
resource
Effectively
retrieve
relevant
information
Evaluate reliability,
relevance,
currency
& appropriateness
Use the
information
in an ethical
way
Apply information
to problem &
integrate
into existing knowledge
APPLYING
INFORMATION
LITERACY TO
PBL
8. • Anatomy of the lung
Factual Information –
Textbooks
• Allergens and treatment
Current Research – Journal
Articles or Websites
• Is the information reliable?
• Is the information relevant to
problem?
Location
Availability of treatment
The Coughing Horse
9. Information Literacy
Instruction in PBL
• Traditional lectures clashes with philosophical foundations of
PB L
• Usefulness of traditional workshops
• In PBL context students need to use a range of information
resources in order to find a range of information types
• Often need to explain to academics that a change in
educational approach requires ALL aspects of student
instruction to change
10. Workshop approach
• Keep students in their PBL groups
• Identify common “Learning Issues” across all groups
• Let students search for information without any guidance or
instruction
• Each group reports back
Which resources they used
Why they chose each resource
How useful each resource was
What strategy/language they used
11. Workshop approach
• Librarian then looks at “Learning Issue”
Identify which ‘type’ of information is required
Identify appropriate sources
Think about language, keywords, alternative terms
• Students then repeat exercise and report back
• Students also asked how the information they find applies
to the problem
13. Using a ‘problem’ approach
• Psychology/sociology
Research on stress associated with long commutes
• Environmental Studies
Comparative literature on impact of new motorways on
developing countryside
• Planning & Policy
Government reports in infrastructure planning
• Economics
Current Irish & European statistics
14. Conclusion
• Information Literacy is increasingly consciously
developed
encourage students to think about information they need
challenge students to critically evaluate the information
they find and the source
• Information Literacy is often:
Included as a learning outcome
An assessment criteria
• Librarians are more involved in curriculum
development:
Ensure there are sufficient resources
Help students develop necessary skills
15. Conclusion
• Introduction of PBL can dramatically change library &
librarian’s role
• Librarians often act as group facilitators in PBL
Significant departure from their traditional role
New skill set
• Information literacy essential component
Many academics begin to understand the importance of IL
and librarian as a result of PBL
This often leads to a ‘spill over’ effect
16. How do we strike
the balance
between taking
advantage of new
opportunities and
managing growing
workloads?
Notes de l'éditeur
Paper will look at how ILI is approached with a PBL context
Msc Ultrasound
MVB Vet med
MSc Nurse Education
Facilitates work
Msc Ultrasound
When we send students out on their own, they come back with information from unreliable sources
Hear a lot about the importance of self directed learning within PBL, information literacy and self-directed learning go hand-in-hand. Silen argues they are both inter-linked process.
Development of life-long transferable skills – one of the main benefits of PBL – information literacy is one of these skills
Important to be critical and reflective about how we find and use information
PBL gives students the skill to find the answer to something they don’t know. To do this they must be able to search for information properly
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Students often go to PubMed or google –
Mexican environmental factors different to Ireland
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Struggled initially with finding a suitable approach
In the first instance often only given the same time/slot as non-PBL classes – academics then wonder why students struggle to find information
MUST be in context. As we have become more involved in PBL able to argue case of more integrated approach
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Requires certain amount of letting go. Cannot plan in the same way as traditional sessions. Many librarians struggle with this
Also, in PBL it’s very important not to show students everything but they have an opportunity – as always information literacy instruction MUST be in context
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Generic problem, can use subject problems – flashy trainers